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(单词翻译:双击或拖选)
By Benjamin Sand
Islamabad
16 January 2006
Protesters hold their party flags as they take part in an anti-U.S. rally in Karachi, Pakistan on Sunday, Jan. 15, 2006
Anti-American sentiment is running high in Pakistan, four days after a purported1 U.S. air strike killed at least 18 people in the country's remote tribal2 region. There has been no official comment from U.S. authorities, but Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice has promised to address Pakistani concerns over the attack.
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U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice Monday defended U.S. anti-terror policy in Pakistan, but refused to comment directly on last Friday's deadly missile attack.
U.S. media report the CIA likely planned the mission, which hit a suspected al-Qaida safe house in Pakistan's remote tribal region near the Afghan border.
Pakistan has lodged3 a formal protest with the U.S. Embassy in Islamabad over the incident, and Rice promised to address Pakistani concerns.
Despite U.S. and Pakistani officials' efforts to play down the incident, Islamic groups in Pakistan are openly blaming the U.S., and vowed4 Monday to continue anti-American protests.
At least 5,000 people joined this demonstration5 in Karachi on Sunday. Similar rallies were held in major cities and villages across the country.
Officials from Pakistan's largest opposition6 party, the MMA, are also demanding that Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz cancel his planned trip to Washington, which begins Wednesday.
Mr. Aziz called the attack "regrettable" on Monday, but said his visit would proceed as scheduled.
Pakistani tribal villagers view damage caused by airstrikes in village of Damadola, near the Afghan border
Former Pakistani Senator Shafqat Mahmood says the missile strike has provided fresh ammunition7 for anti-American forces inside Pakistan.
"There's a fairly widespread resentment8 that Pakistan's territory has been violated by an ally," he said. "We've been strong supporters of the war on terror, and if your own territory starts to be hit, then it does create problems."
The attack occurred last Friday in the village of Damadola, about seven kilometers from the Afghan border. The tribal area is considered a relative safe haven9 for Taleban and al-Qaida insurgents10.
Media reports have quoted anonymous11 U.S. and Pakistani officials as saying al-Qaida's deputy commander, Ayman al-Zawahiri, was expected to attend a dinner in Damadola on the night of the attack.
Officials here say the strike killed at least 18 people, but they believe Zawahiri was not in the compound during the attack. Local tribesmen claim the only victims were innocent civilians12, including several women and children.
Pakistan has strongly condemned13 the attack and indicated that it came from the Afghan side of the border.
Meanwhile, Pakistani officials have also warned local tribesmen against harboring suspected militants14.
Pakistan's information minister, Sheikh Rashid Ahmed, spoke15 to reporters in Islamabad a day after the attack.
"While this act is highly condemnable16, we have been for a long time striving to rid our tribal areas of foreign intruders, who have been responsible for all the miseries17 and violence in the region," he said.
Pakistan has deployed18 some 70,000 troops to the region to secure the border and flush out suspected militants.
1 purported | |
adj.传说的,谣传的v.声称是…,(装得)像是…的样子( purport的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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2 tribal | |
adj.部族的,种族的 | |
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3 lodged | |
v.存放( lodge的过去式和过去分词 );暂住;埋入;(权利、权威等)归属 | |
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4 vowed | |
起誓,发誓(vow的过去式与过去分词形式) | |
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5 demonstration | |
n.表明,示范,论证,示威 | |
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6 opposition | |
n.反对,敌对 | |
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7 ammunition | |
n.军火,弹药 | |
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8 resentment | |
n.怨愤,忿恨 | |
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9 haven | |
n.安全的地方,避难所,庇护所 | |
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10 insurgents | |
n.起义,暴动,造反( insurgent的名词复数 ) | |
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11 anonymous | |
adj.无名的;匿名的;无特色的 | |
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12 civilians | |
平民,百姓( civilian的名词复数 ); 老百姓 | |
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13 condemned | |
adj. 被责难的, 被宣告有罪的 动词condemn的过去式和过去分词 | |
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14 militants | |
激进分子,好斗分子( militant的名词复数 ) | |
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15 spoke | |
n.(车轮的)辐条;轮辐;破坏某人的计划;阻挠某人的行动 v.讲,谈(speak的过去式);说;演说;从某种观点来说 | |
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16 condemnable | |
adj.该罚的,该受责备的 | |
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17 miseries | |
n.痛苦( misery的名词复数 );痛苦的事;穷困;常发牢骚的人 | |
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18 deployed | |
(尤指军事行动)使展开( deploy的过去式和过去分词 ); 施展; 部署; 有效地利用 | |
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